Posts Tagged ‘September’

Disney and LEGO have come together in a magical way to release a giant recreation of Disney World’s iconic Cinderella Castle in LEGO! The castle will prominently feature the front display of the castle in intricate detail, while turning the set around will reveal a number of playrooms for LEGO mini-figures to have fun in! These rooms will themselves be themed after a number of Disney’s most famous movies and animations, including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Fantastia, and Brave among others. The giant set will also contain unique Disney-themed mini-figures, providing collectors with the chance to own Mickey Mouse, Minny Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Tinker Bell! Standing at nearly 30″ high, the 4080-piece LEGO Disney Castle will go on sale on September 1st for $349.

“The Animation Show of Shows” has been an annual event in which animators from all over the world participate in a collection of animated shorts, which is them shown at school and studios across the nation. Now, this year’s edition of “The Animation Show of Shows” will make its way onto the silver screen for the very first time by debuting in theaters! This year’s collection marks the 17th version of “The Animation Show of Shows” since the collection’s debut in 1998, and features 11 animated shorts from artists from Ireland, France, Russia, Switzerland, Australia, Iran, and the United States. This annual gathering of international art, curated Acme Filmworks founder Ron Diamond, has been dedicated to spreading the word on unique, small-scale solo animators and teams, and hopes to inspire and enrich both professionals as well as the everyday spectator seeing animated shorts like these for the very first time. “The Animation Show of Shows” begins its big-screen debut on September 24th, airing for a week at the Arclight Cinema in Hollywood, California. It will then take to the road across October and November, showing off the film in select theaters across the nation. To find out more about future screenings of the Animation Show, as well as previous iterations of this annual collection, check out their official website here!

The Minneapolis College of Art and Design, or MCAD for short, will once again be bringing anime and Asian culture to the Twin Cities with their annual Mechademia conference! Originally titled “School Girls and Mobile Suits”, the Mechademia conference was originally founded in 2001 as a means for discussion of Asian culture and its influence in design, fashion, and art from all over the world. The three-day event has often hosted a number of talks and events hosted by internationally renowned artists in the past, including “Cowboy Bebop” and “Ghost in the Shell” screenwriter Dai Sato and art critic Hiroki Azuma, and will be hosting art and talks this year from manga artist Tomoko Taniguchi, fashion artist Novala Takemoto, videogame designer Brianna Wu, and more!

On top of that, the event hosts a wide variety of workshops and hands-on experiences for visitors of all ages, and even a runway fashion show! The event even publishes an annual “Mechademia” art book, which has received international praise. Special thanks goes out to Samantha Rei Crossland and Frenchy Lunning for helping make this event a reality every year! The Mechademia conference will take place this month from September 25th to the 27th, so make sure to get your tickets and check out this awesome annual experience! Click here to find out more about Mechademia and MCAD!

Now that summer is winding down and it’s time to head back to school, TOMODACHI is offering a special deal on our colorful selection of designer washi tape! Through the end of September, customers who purchase two rolls of mt tape will get one for free! Stock up on tons of cool colors and patterns to use for creatively decorating dorm rooms, embellishing interiors and making beautiful, eye-catching arts and crafts. This offer is only available while supplies last and will conclude at the end of September, so don’t miss out!

What is mt tape? mt is a brand of washi rice paper masking tape produced by Japanese company Kamoi Kakoshi. This no-damage adhesive is designed to be easily applied, aligned and repositioned, making it a perfect tool for use in crafts, interior decoration, contemporary art installation and design. Available in a huge variety of colors, patterns, styles, and sizes, mt has become a part of daily life for customers and artists across the world, adding a little bit of color everywhere!

The sixth annual edition of the Echigo Tsumari Art Triennale in Japan has drawn international attention since its opening on July 26th, decorating the Niigata highlands with a wide variety of artwork and installation pieces. The Triennale is designed to be a return to the rural art festival, shunning glorified urban art exhibitions in order to reintroduce visitors to art in the environment. This year’s Triennale is bigger than ever, boasting 380 works from 350 different artists from all over the world, including new works from artists like Yayoi Kusama, Cai Guo-Qiang, Paola Pivi, Annette Messager, Shilpa Gupta, Tadashi Kawamata, Lee Bul, Shinji Ohmaki, Navin Rawanchaikul, and Noe Aoki.

The works on display range from huge installation pieces to transformed barns, decorated train cabs, found art, optical illusions, and more. Along the way, visitors are encouraged to visit local cafés and enjoy the rural Niigata environments and atmosphere. Since its founding in 2000, the exhibit has been a huge inspiration for artists across the globe, and has spawned similar art movements in China and Thailand. The Trienalle will be closing on September 13th, 2015, so give it a look before it closes up for the year, or check out the event’s official website here!

Charles Pétillon, French fashion designer and installation artist, has brought his balloon art to the public for the very first time with his new cloud-themed installation piece! Titled “Heartbeat”, this giant expanse of white balloons has taken over the Covent Garden market building in London, England, and includes over 100,000 individual balloons! These balloons come together to form a weaving cloud form that hands over visitors’ heads as they shop and relax, and are illuminated from the inside to create a vivid display for spectators.

The piece itself reaches over 54 meters, or 177 feet, in length, and will be on display until September 27th. Alongside the installation of “Heartbeat”, Pétillon also has a separate pop-up gallery near the Covent Garden which showcases his other work. These displays are set up in anticipation for the London Design Festival, which will open from September 19th to the 27th, making London a prime spot to see some awesome art in the coming months!

KAWS, internationally acclaimed artist and designer, will be bringing his artwork to the Newcomb Art Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana this September, but he won’t be alone! The new exhibit, titled “A Shared Space”, will feature works from KAWS himself alongside worked from artists Karl Wirsum and Tomoo Gokita, both of whom have served as inspirations for KAWS. The exhibit will be adorned by KAWS’ 16′ Companion statue, and feature 17 works from KAWS, as well as 26 pieces from Wirsum and 9 from Gokita, all of which are from KAWS’ personal art collection. The exhibit will be open from September 9th, which will also host a live artist talk with KAWS on the opening day, to January 3rd, 2016, giving fans plenty of time to go check out his art collection. Be sure to check it out this September!